- The 49th Hunger Games -
by Hienna
Summary: Follow the path of a charismatic young man from District 10 who gets chosen to represent his District on the 49th Hunger Games and discovers the wonders of The Capitol, by whom he is loved.
1. Chapter 1

T'was the day I would have to face the reaping once again. One more year and I would be free. I woke up that morning like any other, almost forgot about the big cerimony for a moment. I ran up to the kitchen to find my parents already waiting for me; I could see the disappointment in my mother's eyes. She made me hear that cowboy hat and clothes - oh, the variety of clothes on Ten was lovely - and without having time to eat anything, we mounted our horses and to the square we went.

Even after all this years, people were still frightened by my father. They usually steped back when seeing him, so getting to the square was piece of cake. Perks of being a marginal's son.

My parent's stayed on the entrance while I walked into the centre of the square. There I met, what her name was? Lexie, I think, my cousin. The living definition of 'brat', red-haired, freckled, annoying girl. Two years younger than me. With a grin on her face, she asked me, "_Scared_?" which I answered _no, not at all,_ and kept walking until I was next to all the other 17 years old boys.

The escort soon arrived, with her red wig and big, fake horns she surely looked like a Barrosã cow. I couldn't contain myself and let a laugh escape from my mouth, the escort insisted in looking like a different breed of cattle every year.

_"Welcome to the year of the 49th Hunger Games_", she said, "_in which we're gonna reap two of your children once again so that they can die in front of all country_", I completed. She seemed very excited to show us the same boring movie as every year, during which I almost fell asleep. Her high pitched, annoying voice brought me back to reality, when she said she was going to pick the female Tribute who was going to represent District Ten that year.

_- Glenda Calhoun_ - she called, with a smile on her face.

"_Calhoun, Calhoun_", I searched back in my memory. Nope, I didn't recall anyone with that surname. A young girl, possibly 14 or 15 years old, timidly walked up the stage. The escort didn't lose time and took a paper out the boy's globe.

- _Atticus Fletch,_ - she called confidently. My heart skipped a beat. That was me.


	2. Chapter 2

"Oh c'mon, she must be kidding", I thought. "She has to be kidding, right?" but no, that was no joke. And it took two peacekeepers to make me understand that, since I hadn't moved since I heard my name. They brought me to the stage and I looked at the crowd with a goofy smile, but inside I was terrified. My eyes searched for me parents, which I couldn't find due two District Ten's ridiculously big population, and in a matter of a few seconds I was already shaking Ebony's hand which was looking at me with those big blue eyes, scared as hell. At that moment, "shit" was the only word that could came up to my mind.

The peacekeepers brought me to the Justice Building where I was told to wait in a small room. In a few seconds, my parents walked in; my mother was crying or at least pretending to, my father only had a sad look on his face. They both hugged me and for a second, noone said a thing. "You'll be okay sweetie" was what finally came in from my mother's mouth, but I knew none of them thought about the small-almost-non-existent-odd of me winning the Games. Seriously though, everyone in Ten knew how to AT LEAST use a fucking knife to slaughter an animal if necessary, but we were mere trainers. The most I could do was using a rope or a whip which could be easily cut by a knife. Pretty much, I was screwed.

Peacekeepers again entered the room telling my parents the time was over. No one came after them, not even my annoying girl Lexie. But I didn't care, to be honest. I felt like my mind didn't quite understand yet that I was going to die in a few days.

We entered the train, which was totally awesome - food everywhere, and not only animal derivated food. In other words, CANDIES. The train was full of candies and it was awesome. Not gonna lie, if I'm going to die at least I shall make my last days worth living. And the Capitol had thought about that well.

The escort kept talking about boring stuff about the Capitol while I was eating candies, only nodding my head pretending I was listening and interested, which I wasn't. Ebony was sitting down on the couch looking trough the window, she hadn't said a thing since we arrived at the train.

Our mentor soon arrived, an old cowboy who had won ageees ago. What was his name again? Dallas something, I couldn't care less about it anyways. If I recall well, he was known from taming this weird venomous snake mutts created by the Capitol, controlling the death rate by its venom; and had the strongest ever District 10 accent which was the cause of all the other District's making fun of our accent. But he was a good guy.

He sat on the couch next to Ebony, his legs imediatly on the table, and pushed him to her with a friendly smile. Asked her about how she was feeling, but she didn't answer. Dallas let a long sigh escape and turned to me. "What about you, boy?" he asked.

"I'm okay" I answered, shrugging. The look on his face told me he didn't believe me, but he kept going.

"What do you do?" He asked me.

"I train horses," I answered. "And dogs".

"Zero experience with killing, then. " he continued. "Not usual for a District 10 guy".

"You mean that it is a ladies work, then?" I asked, glancing at Ebony. "That's funny coming from a snake tamer guy." Dallas grinned.

"I like you" he told me. "But don't compare cute puppies to venomous snakes, please."

I laughed, and took one more candy. The escort was still by my side, her eyes were staring at me for too long. She was weird. Dallas seemed finished with his conversation with me, so I grabbed a pack of candies and went to my room, hoping that Ebony could freely talk to Dallas without me there.


	3. Chapter 3

It didn't take long for us to arrive at the Capitol. I could already hear the screams outside, when I left my room I couldn't even see the cityscape with all those coloured heads screaming and taping on the window's glass. Ebony seemed a bit scared; I was surprised by such welcoming to the District Ten tributes. We were considered underdogs, Capitol citizens rarely liked us. I wonder what changed their mind this year.

As I approached the window, the screams became louder and louder. I waved at then the train stopped and the doors opened. Peacekeepers were at the exit, making room for us to be able to step outside and continue our way into the buildin, guided by our escort who wouldn't leave my side. I couldn't stop smiling at the crowd, everyone seemed so excited. And the feeling was weird, but I started getting excited too. I could feel the adrenaline running through my veins.

As we arrived at the building, I got separated from Ebony. A group of three - four weird guys approached me, the middle one seemed to be the "boss" of the group, whatever they were. He took a step front and told me his name, which I couldn't understand, and explained that he would be my stylist from now on. I almost forgot how looks were important at the Capitol, when I was going to ask him how the hell a stylist would help me to survive and kill people. Thankfully, I remembered that soon enough.

The rest of the team waved at me - two women and one guy - and I waved back. They didn't loose much time and told me to take a bath. I didn't know why, but I wondered, why not? And so I did.

You wouldn't believe how awesome Capitol showers were - they had like, hundreds of differents buttons that would make all kind of stuff you could ever imagine, even turning the water pink. I guess I lost to much time taking a bath - or pressing all the buttons - because when I came back, my preparation team was completely panicking about time.

And that was funny as hell.

They made me lie down in a table and started taking care of me. Man, I felt like a king. Waxing, taking care of my nails, etc. Things I would never think of doing back in Ten. I stretched back my arms and made my head lie on my hands. I was really starting to enjoy all this Capitol stuff.

After all the caring, I was left alone with the stylist-whose-name-I-did-not-understand. He started walking around, glancing at me sometimes, his eyes exploring every milimeter of my skin. He seemed to be talking alone, saying something about my tribute parade outfit, and then stopped walking to look at me. "I know exactly what to do to make all Sponsors fall for you", he told me with that evil grin on his face - which was starting to scare me, like, a lot.

"You can go to your room" he said. "I'll meet you at Ten's floor in half an hour."

I left that place as fast as I could.

That man was creepy as hell and the big horns he always wear on his shoulders made him even creepier. Shouldn't he already have my tribute parade outfit ready? I couldn't find Ebony anywhere at floor 10, she was probably already ready for the parade.

I took the extra time to rest for a little bit. He arrived exactly half an hour later, bringing with him what would be my tribute parade outfit - only... pants? If I couldn't call them that. It was like, the legs of a goat, hoof-like shoes and tail included. What. The. Fuck. Man. I would look like a goddamn satyr.

He made me wear the pants - even with me complaining, but man, he was scary as hell and I didn't want to anger him - and left my torso naked, plus this weird scarf thingy made by fur - which was not goat fur, by the way - and after combing my red hair backwards - he made me wear this caprine like horns. Really!? Man, how the hell was this going to get me sponsors.


	4. Chapter 4

We catched the elevator to go downstars and there we found my escort, who screamed "oh my" and couldn't stop looking at me. I just laughed.

We arrived at the preparation room - and yes, I was the last one - where I was able to meet the other Tributes for the first time. I couldn't help but laugh, even the biggest, probably stronger ones - like that guy from 4 - looked all ridiculous on their outfits. I don't think he liked me laughing at him, though. I found Ebony sitting alone in a corner, and I was on my way to her when I got interrupted. This girl - probably my age - approached me, but she wasn't wearing any outfit at all - only plain normal clothes.

She was gonna say something, but I interrupted.

- You ain't gonna get any sponsors with normal clothes like that, you better warn you stylist - I said, with a smirk on my face.

- Idiot - she immediatly answered. - I'm District's Seven mentor, not a mere Tribute.

- A mentor!? - I said, laughing. But yeah, now I could recognize her. She was that girl who won two or three years ago, I can't remember.

She turned her back to me and started walking away, but I stopped her, still laughing.

- Hey, hey. I was joking, I remember you. Gabriela, right? Or something like that.

- Gabrielle - she corrected me. "Whatever", I thought. - And you ain't gonna get any sponsors dressed like a goat either - she continued.

- Pft. We'll see. - I said, provoking her.

- Just be thankful for your body - she said, with a smirk on her face. I didn't understand what she meant, but when I was going to ask her about it, she was already gone.

I could hear the noise starting to itensify outside, which told me the parade was about to begin.

The carriages soon arrived, leaded by black horses. Oh boy, oh boy. I could recognize them. They were trained by my father and I, some years ago! From x to x years, we were demanded to train new horses for the Capitol. Those were the ones we dispatched last year.

Dallas, who was conversating with the other mentors, approached me with Ebony by his side and told us to get into the chariot RIGHT NOW. I was hoping I would be able to spend some time with the horses after that.

I petted the head of the two who were leading our chariot and got inside of it with Ebony by my side. She was dressed up like a satyr too, but she also had this coat which covered her torso. And her horns where shorter than mine, obviously. Glad the Capitol got that right.

The Capitol hymn started and instantly, the first horses started galloping. The mentor from Seven took my time from analyzing the other tributes, but I kinda liked her. While the other carriages left the preparation room, I tried telling Ebony some jokes to cheer her up, but it didn't work at all.

The horses started galloping and Ebony almost fell down but I was able to catch her at time. I could hear the screams from the Capitol citizens - I hadn't realize we were already live. Oh my. Ebony got herself back together and I looked at the crowd waving, with a smirk on my face. People started screaming louder and louder, and red roses fell on our carriage. I catched one on fly and grabbed it with my teeth. The screams made my ears hurt. But man, I was surely loving all the attention.

The carriages stopped and I could notice the president looking right at me. The look on his face made me uncomfortable. He welcomed us to the 49th year of the Hunger Games, and started with all that boring conversation we've heard dozens of times. I didn't care to listen.

Then the carriages went back to the preparation room - the screams became louder again, I couldn't help but keep smiling at the crowd.

I got of the carriage and stayed next to the horses, petting them and feeding them some sugar cubes. "I'm sure you miss the fields in 10 buddy", I told him.

- You talking to the horses? - a familiar voice sounded beside me. Gabriela the mentor-not-tribute from Seven was there.

- Yeah, actually I am. - I said. - What were you saying about the goat man not getting any sponsors? - I smirked at her, taking one of the roses from the carriage and offering it to her.

- What is that for? - she asked.

- It's for you, dumbass. I got it from my non existent sponsors. - I answered, without thinking much.

- Note, when trying to impress sponsors or a girl, do not call them dumbass. Second note, they are not your sponsors yet, darling. - she answered, arrogantly.

- Well I am sorry to disappoint you, but I ain't trying to impress no one. - she was starting to annoy me, but I admit I should have thought before saying that.

- I don't think you need to try to impress... - she then places her hand on my chest. I could feel myself blushing. - That did it for you - she completed, smirking.

What the hell? Why would the Capitol be interested in my body? Muscles doesn't necessarily mean stregth. I've seen weaker guys winning this. I couldn't even handle a blade.

I ignored my thoughts and answered naturally.

- Well, that required some effort from myself, you know. - I smirked. She smirked back and murmured "may have", not taking her eyes away from my body. Then someone called her, someone I couldn't recognize, but before turning away from me, she told me one more thing.

- Hope you don't die immediatly, that would be a waste.


	5. Chapter 5

Last night was crazy. My prep team, my escort, even Dallas were suprised about the positive feedback they were getting from the Capitol about me. They stayed up all night laughing, screaming, talking about that. I don't know why, but my escort even offered me a drink which I was 100% about the presence of alcohol on it but I refused. I tried to stay awake, smiling, trying to be nice, but damn I was tired as hell and soon I went to bed.

Next day was training day. I couldn't analyze the other tributes during the parade, so I told myself I'd spend a good part of the first training day doing it. Dallas was at the living room doing tricks with a whip, showing them to Ebony and the escort.

- Oh, Atticus! Our big boy! - he shouted when I arrived. - You know how to use a whip too, don't ya? - he asked me. - Be sure to show that on training. Everyone will be scared of you! - he laughed, and started with the whip tricks again.

- Yeah, s-sure - I answered, scratching my head. - I was still to tired to even think about training. And I didn't think it would be the best idea to show everyone what I could do, I'd save that for the Gamemakers.

I went back to my room when I realised I was still wearing my pyjamas.

I had to wear this really cool t-shirt with a 10 on it and some training pants. Already late, I ran down to the training centre - and I was the last one arriving, again. The trainer didn't loose time waiting for me and was already explaining some stuff about survival techniques, which I decided to pay attention since it could actually save my ass.

The big guy from 4 wouldn't stop looking at me and it was starting to annoy me. I looked at him and moved my lips saying "the fuck you want?" and a grin was formed in his lips. I turned my attention to the trainer again.

When she was finished, I left the group and started walking around the training centre.

Until I felt someone pushing my t-shirt from the back.

I tried to say something, but when I noticed I was already against a wall. The guy from Four was holding my neck, with an evil grin on his face. That monster was almost 2 meters high. When I tried to punch him in the face, he stopped my hand with almost no effort and started laughing.

- Enough, Atlas. - someone said. The guy from Four, which now I knew was named Atlas, turned back to see a tall, but no Atlas-tall, blonde guy, which t-shirt told me he was from 1.

- Oh c'mon Earl, the fun was about to start - he turned back to me again. - and lil' ginger here was asking for it.

- Save that to the Arena, - Earl answered, smiling at me. But there was this bad vibe I was feeling about him.

Atlas finally let me go and joined Earl, and both got back to a group of Tributes - probably the career pack.

- Idiots - I murmured, as I walked away.

Three days of training wen by fast. I've learned some good survival techniques, like camouflage and making traps. But I've also discovered how absolutely terrible I was using blades. So pretty much, I was screwed.

Atlas tried to provoke me various times during training, but Earl was always with an eye on him. I've also discovered that the girl from 4 was no Career, but a mere trawler, who was sacredly protected by all Careers. And damn, she was beautiful.

I got back to 10th floor every training day tired as hell. I almost forgot how I'd have to show my skills to the Gamemakers the next day. Oh shit, I had no idea what to do there. I end up going to sleep anyway, hoping my mind would be fresh the next day.

But it wasn't. I got to the waiting room, where I sat between the girl from 9 and Ebony, and had to wait ageees before my turn. I still had no idea what to do there, though.

When Ebony came back, I heard my name finally being called and to the training room I went. Everything was a mess, God. It took me a second to notice the Gamemakers up there.

- Well... hello - I said, with a goofy smile on my face. Gosh, I really had no idea what to say or what to do. I searched around the room and decided to grab a whip and a rope. I made the whip hit the floor for the noise to wake the Gamemakers up and searched for those humanoid targets I could recall seeing at the training centre.

I made a knot with the rope and laced some target heads. What else could I do with a rope and a whip? It's not like they had animals at the training centre or something. I kept doing the same thing over and over, plus some tricks with the whip, but the Gamemakers didn't seem interested anymore. Whatever. Without saying anything else, I left the room.

I got to 10th floor tired as always, and went straight to my bed. I was really mad at the Gamemakers, and scared of Dallas' future reaction when he sees my results, so I didn't even dare to have dinner with them. Thankfully, they didn't bother to go check on me.

I did eat something, though. I waited for them to leave the living room and stealed the leftovers. I end up falling asleep right there, at the dinner table.

- Atticus dear, you gonna miss the training scores! - was the first thing I've heard that morning. And I couldn't give a fuck about the training scores.

But Dallas and my escort dragged me to the couch, and almost falling asleep again, I heard the annoying voice of the Capitol interviewer coming from the television.

Earl's score was the first one showing up. He had gotten an eleven. The other girl from his District got a ten, and so did Atlas.

Most of the other Tributes got something between 4 and 7. After the District Nine miserable 5, it was my turn. Dallas and my escort were looking at the television as if they wouldn't accept any score under Ten.

But I only got a seven. Dallas looked at me, angrily, and asked me for an explanation. I shrugged.

- I just didn't know what to do.

Surprisingly, Ebony had gotten an eight. It made me think a little bit, I had no clue about what she used to do back in Ten. For what I know, she could have been an butcher or something.

No one bothered me anymore about my training score, probably because it was the Interview day and they had other things to focus on. And so did I.

Having a not-so-good score on training, I would have to do my best at the Interview.


	6. Chapter 6

I got called up later by my stylist. I couldn't not think about the ridiculous suit he might make me wear this time. Thankfully, he decided that this time I should only focus on my personality and on actually being me, so he made me wear this normal cowboy suit, common in District 10. Only the cowboy hat had this small antlers implanted, with these kind of small feathers hanging from them. Well, it was better than being a satyr.

And to the waiting room I went again. It sucked to be from one of the last Districts. Why don't they start by Twelve instead of One? I watched as the blonde career - Earl, - stepped on stage. He seemed to be pretty intelligent, for a Career. He knew how to use his words. Now the girl from his District, was completely hysterical and annoying. Artair, the career from 2, was also pretty cunning, or at least seemed so. The girl was pretty charismatic, but kinda dumb. The Tributes from Three, smart as always. Muscles, zero. Atlas was the opposite - he was a really, big guy. Strong and charismatic, but seemed pretty dumb. The girl was a complete princess. Beautiful, well-behaved, kind. I kinda felt sorry for her.

I couldn't afford to pay attention to the other Tributes. The enterviews were just... boring. And kinda ridiculous. I did pay attention to this guy from Eight, Barvon - he seemed so... weird. I dunno, but I could see this kind of evilness in his eyes. I told myself to be careful about him... and about everyone else, really. But man. There was something wrong about that guy.

The girl from Nine finally returned and I could hear the interviewer saying, "Now lets welcome our beloved Atticus Fletch, from District 10!" and the crowd cheered. Beloved, really?

I arrived at the stage with a crooked smile. The crowd seemed so... restless. They were cheering, screaming, saying my name as if I were that important. I kinda fell weird about it, but I can't deny I was loving all the attention.

I greeted the interviewer, still smiling.

- Oh, my! I can't believe I'm finally interviewing the famous Atticus Fletch! - he said.

- Famous? - I replied, with a laugh. - I wouldn't consider myself as that.

- I don't think they have the same oppinion... - the interviewer continued, pointing at the audience. They cheered loudly in return.

"Whoa," was all I said. The interviewer laughed.

- So tell me, Atticus! What do you do back in Ten? - he finally asks.

- Well, uh, I'm an animal trainer. I mean, I train dogs and horses for various things. Actually, the horses you guys use for the Tribute Parade, were trained by my father and I, some years ago. - I answered, smiling at the audience.

- Oh wow! That is amazing, young man! Isn't it, folks? - he asks the audience, who screams louder.

- Yeah, it's pretty cool. - I smirked, and the audience cheered.

- And tell me, Atticus. What are you thinking of the Capitol so far? - he continues. I didn't hesitate to answer.

- I'm absolutely loving it. - the audience screamed louder. - The people are amazing, the installations are amazing, the food is amazing. It's amazing man, simply amazing - I repeated, giggling.

- Well we always think of the best for our dear Tributes, don't we! - he laughed. - And you deverve it young Atticus, yes you do.

- Do I? - I asked, with a smirk on my face.

- Does he? - the Interviewer asked the audience.

And I swear I've never heard so many screams at the same time. I'm pretty sure I almost got deaf.

- See, Atticus! You really deserve it. The Capitol has spoken! - he laughed again, and I laughed back.

- I'll have to believe in you guys then, - I answered.

- One more question before you we call your beautiful partner Ebony - he continues, - something we've all been wondering. - he hesitated before asking - tell us Atticus, is there someone your heart belongs to?

The atmosphere tensed up; I wasn't expecting such question.

- Well figuratively, nope. I'm totally free, it could belong to any of you - I pointed at the audience, who almost went mad. - but technically, it belongs to me. You know, I kinda need it to live. - I giggled.

Everyone bursted in laugh, I laughed with them.

- That's good news, then! - The interviewer says, laughing. - Thank you so much, young Atticus. And may the odds be ever in your favour tomorrow. We are cheering for you, boy! Ladies and gentleman, the charismatic ATTICUS FLETCH! - he held my hand up in the air, and then I left the stage by the sound of the applauses.

Oh, boy. I felt awesome. They seemed to like me, a lot. It was weird, but I liked it.

Ebony was called - I almost forgot about her. She almost never talked, but now she would really have to. And maybe I'd finally learn somethin' about her.

The interviewer starts by asking the same thing he asked me, about life in Ten. She answers saying that she worked for a small farm, as a carer. I also discovered that she had a boyfriend back home, the son of the owner of the farm she works for.

He then asks about her relationship with me. And for my surprise, she simply answers that she thinks I'm an idiot. And doesn't stop there. She says that there's no way I could win the games, that I needed to be more down-to-earth or I'd die at the Cornucopia. That I had no clue about real life and real problems. And all I could think of was, "what a bitch". Ebony was exactly the opposite of what I thought she'd be.

I left the waiting room, angry. All this time I've been considering Ebony a possible ally, now I was wishing she'd die at the Cornucopia. Was she just trying to make an impression to the Capitol? Well, I don't care. What a bitch. Before I knew it, I almost bumped against Gabriella or something-like-that-mentor-from-7.

- Where do you think you're going? - she asks me, smirking. - The Interviews are not over yet.

- I don't care. Mine is over, I have nothing to do here. And I'm tired, so please, step aside. - I answered, angrily. I was in no mood for sweet talks.

- Why so mad? - her expression suddenly changes. - Oh! You didn't like your not-so-sweet District partner? - she smirked.

Well, apparently, she's a bitch. - I shrugged. - I think my ally options just got reduced to 0.

She laughed.

- Please, you're worried about that? You'll do good, everyone loves you.

- Except Ebony - I added. - And probably Atlas. Well, I don't need them anyways. My non-existent sponsors will keep me alive. - I giggled, now smirking at her. She smirked back.


	7. Chapter 7

I passed by Dallas without saying a word. He was talking with my escort and seemed pretty happy, and started by saying "Hey, Atticus!" when he saw me but I ignored him and went straight to my room.

I closed the door behind me and and layed on my bed. Why was I feeling that bad? I wasn't even friends with Ebony. She was just some girl from my District... but I couldn't help but feel... betrayed, I think. Whatever.

Time went by and then I heard some noise from outside my room, Ebony and the others probably had arrived. They were laughing at something. I didn't bother to leave my room. It seems like I'd be eating leftovers that night again.

This time they were more helpfull and left a considerately big meal on the table, enough to make me recover my energies before I entered the Arena next morning.

Since I arrived at the Capitol, I've been nervous about the Arena, but not now. Now I just felt kinda... empty. It was weird.

I was finishing my meal when District's 10 escort appeared.

- Enjoyed your meal? - she asked.

- Yeah, thanks. Was it you? - I answered

- Yes, I guessed you wouldn't come for dinner. - She sat next to me. - Seems like Ebony isn't the sweet girl we always thought she was, - she continued.

- Yeah. - I answered, still looking at my plate. I felt her hand touching my leg and imediatly looked at her, with a surprised look on my face. She winked at me and withrew her hand.

- But people here at the Capitol only talk about you. - she told me, happily. - You'll do just fine. - she got up and winked at me once again, before leaving.

Wait... what the hell? How could they only talk about me? Oh man, I was so tired. I could even think right. I decided I would go to sleep so that I could rest well before the "big day".


	8. Chapter 8

- Atticus. ATTICUS! - I could hear someone knocking violently at the door. - Wake up! - that horribly strong District 10 accent... ugh, Dallas... why wouldn't he let me sleep more?

- Five more minutes, please! - I yelled back.

- I hope you're fucking kidding me, young man. - he answered.- You just can't be late for the Arena.

The Arena... oh my God. THE ARENA! I swear, I forgot about that for a second. I imediatly got up and opened the door.

- Eat something and go, now. Your stylist is already waiting for you! - Dallas said. I ran up to the living room and grabbed something before meeting my stylist.

- Thought you wouldn't appear - he commented, with an evil grin on his face. He was holding this really big, wide robe, which I assumed would be my Arena oufit.

- Is that... - I started.

- Your outfit for the Arena? Yeah. - he grinned. He handed me it and a pair of boots, similar to the ones we used on 10. We used them to protect us from snake and other venomous animals bites, so I'm guessing the Arena will have some venomous lil' guys.

- Okaay... - I said, putting my clothes on.

- You'll do fine, boy. - He tells me with his creepy grin. "Uh, thanks", was my answer.

"10 seconds to launch," I hear a mechanical voice saying. It was time.

I stepped into the plate with no big goodbyes.

"9, 8, 7, 6 seconds..."

I felt myself feeling more and more nervous.

"5, 4, 3..."

Oh my. What if I died at the Cornucopia?

"2, 1, 0". The glass closed and I felt the plate lifting up.

The first thing that hit me was this big wave of heat. Not like, District 10 heat. I was talking about REAL heat. My vision imediatly became blurred, as if I already needed to drink an entire lake to feel normal again.

Sand was EVERYWHERE. There was absolutely no place to hide. You could see a Tribute miles away. But around the big structure of the cornucopia there was water. Probably not clean water, they wouldn't make it that easy for us. The supplies seemed to be... floating? Even the ones which are NOT supposed to float...

The countdown was at 47.

This was weird... how they float like that?

40.

They didn't even seem to be moving...

33.

I couldn't spot Ebony; the girl from 9 was by my side and Atlas was on her other side.

25...

Oh boy. What should I do? I wasn't even that good of a swimmer...

10.

I had zero chances of getting something from the Cornucopia.

5...4...3...

Maybe I should just try to get a bagpack or something.

2...1...0.

I missed the starting point just in time to see Atlas attempting to jump to the water, but end up with is head stuck on sand.


	9. Chapter 9

I couldn't help but laugh. And I did lose precious time with that. Plus, Atlas would now definitely hunt me down for the rest of my life (I'm pretty sure he now wants to be responsible for my death).

I tried to focus and ran in direction to a orange bagpack. I picked it up with no thinking. I looked left and right, but the items were SO far away from each other. Tributes falling down here and there, thanks to the water illusion. Oh gosh, I have to control myself. But all this situation was so goddamn funny. Ok, so what do I need? Should I try to get a whip? Oh gosh no, I'd be dead in a minute. I spotted blanket and ran towards it. I knew how cold it could be in a desert at night. Atlas was already running towards the Cornucopia... better get my ass out of here.

So I started running away from the Cornucopia. But to where!? There were no hidding places! I just started running in a random direction, just wanting to stay away from the Cornucopia the farthest I could.

I kept running and running, I was quite fast - until I heard the sound of the speeding wind passing by my right ear. I looked back to see Atlas, panting, with a trident on his left hand. "You're not going to throw that too, are you?" I thought to myself. Crazy guy. I didn't lose more time and kept running before he could catch it. Some meters foward I found a blade half buried in sand, I presumed it would be the thing Atlas threw at me. I didn't hesitate and picked it up, before continuing my run.

I had no idea how to use that thing, but it's better than having no weapon at all.

I only stopped running when I found myself in a field full of rocks. They were very irregular and big, could be useful for hiding. I looked back to see the Cornucopia, but I couldn't see it anywhere. Damn, I was quick - I didn't notice how much I had run. Well, good for me.

I searched for a big rock, enough to provide a big shadow to cool me down. I couldn't see anything or anyone, anywhere. Not even animals, they'd probably be hiding under the sand.

I leaned my back against the rock. Now I began to feel how tired I felt - not only tired from the run, but from everything that had been going on for the last days. I took avantadge of the quietness to check out what was inside my bagpack - a knife, yay for more blades I can't use, a camouflage kit, whoa that would be soo useful on a desert; this kind of weird fruits I've never seen before and a bottle with this weird blue liquid I had no idea what it could be.

That was when I remembered that I had no water.

WHAT THE FUCK, ATTICUS! HOW THE HELL COULD YOU FORGET TO SEARCH FOR WATER AT THE CORNUCOPIA!

- Well fuck, - I said out loud. Geez, I live in District 10. Vast deserts. How could I forget that!? There's no way I was going to find water here. How ridiculous is it to die from dehyration!?


End file.
